Harry Potter and the Raven's Claws
by Grand Duke Jerot
Summary: Harry sorted into Ravenclaw, starting from the point of sorting. He's a little OOC, but just because I'm playing up his curiosity to justify him being in Ravenclaw. You'll find out more inside. Chapter 2 is de-underlined. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Okay, I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, yadda, yadda, yadda. I did copy about the first 1/3 of this chapter (loosely) because I saw no need to change it for the most part. But from then on out, it's completely my writing.

---

Feeling nervous about the sorting, Harry got into line. McGonagall ushered them through the double doors and into the great hall.

It was the most amazing sight Harry had ever seen. There were four tables running the length of the hall, perpendicular to the Teacher's table. All of the tables were set with gold plates and cups. The entire room was lit by countless floating candles. But most amazing was the ceiling. Seeming completely invisible, it seemed to mimic the night sky.

Behind him, Hermione whispered "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History._"

Such a thing was amazing to Harry. He would have to ask Hermione for her copy of the book to figure out how they did that. It was done so well that it hardly seemed to be a ceiling at all.

But Harry snapped back to attention when he saw Professor McGonagall place a stool in front of them. On top of the stool was a wizard's hat. As he tried to figure out what it was for, the Hat began to twitch. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Griffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (although I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause at the end of the song. Even bewildered as he was, Harry clapped along with the rest.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Harry smiled, but not for his friend's joke. The sorting hat told him what he was worrying about the entire time. From the ride on the train, he knew he didn't want to be in Hufflepuff or Slytherin. While he was sure that they were great houses, he just knew they weren't from him. And with the song, Harry knew which house he wanted.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbot, Hannah"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause -

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered quite loudly as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

And the process continued for quite a while as they wend alphabetically through the list. Granger was sorted into Gryffindor, followed by Longbottom.

The list continued on, getting closer and closer to him. Moon, Nott, Parkinson, a pair of Patils. Finally, Perks was called and once she was sorted into Ravenclaw, it was Harry's turn.

"Potter, Harry!"

As he stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"_Potter_, did she say?"

"_The Harry Potter?_"

The hat dropped down onto his head, covering his eyes. In all honestly, he was glad to avoid the stares from everyone in the hall. Now, he waited for the hat.

"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting…. So where shall I put you?"

_Ravenclaw _Harry implored to the hat. _I want to learn._

"Ravenclaw, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You have much curiosity and a strong mind, but the same could be said for all of the houses. You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness."

_No _Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, _Not Slytherin, not Slytherin_

"Well, if you're sure - better be RAVENCLAW!"

Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Ravenclaw table. He felt bad about not pushing for Gryffindor with the hat, but it beat being Slytherin. Ravenclaw was in an uproar over the pick. The usually calm and collected students were cheering loudly for, quite possibly, the best pick of the year.

An older girl with long curly hair came up and shook his hand. "Welcome to Ravenclaw, Potter. I'm Penelope Clearwater. I'm the Ravenclaw prefect."

Through all this, Harry was a bit off balance from the sorting. While shaking Penelope's hand, his eyes made contact with Ron's. The boy looked a little disappointed, and Harry shrugged. It wasn't as if it was the end of the world.

Harry found a seat between a boy and a girl, Michael Corner and Lisa Turpin respectively. Michael was a quiet boy with long brown hair. Lisa, on the other hand, was tall, blond, and quite chatty.

"You're Harry Potter?" She asked. "I didn't hear much of you growing up because my mum's a muggle. Though, my dad made me read up on all this over the summer before coming. You know, they've got whole chapters dedicated to you in some books."

"Really?" Harry asked, embarrassed. He didn't want to be in the spotlight very much, and this unnerved him greatly. But Lisa continued on.

"Yeah, but it's mostly guesswork. They don't know how you defeated Voldemort, so those chapters are usually guesswork into how you did it. Most of them claim that it was Accidental Magic."

Harry nodded at this. He remembered all the times that strange things had happened beyond his control. Jumping onto building tops, talking to snakes. It made sense.

The sorting continued all through this, and the last ones were called. Ron was immediately put in Griffindor. Relieved, he rushed over to his brothers at the table. Zabini was put into Slytherin.

Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms wide open, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would loke to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

He sat down. Everyone clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh.

"Is he - a bit mad?" He asked Lisa.

"I'd imagine that at 150 or so, you'd be a little out of it too." She responded, laughing. Harry laughed at this too, she was probably right. But he stopped laughing when the dishes magically were filled with food.

Harry's mouth fell open. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork shops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken the lion's share of the meals, even if it made him sick. Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything and began to eat. It was delicious.

"How'd the food get here?" Harry asked, halfway through the meal, suddenly remembering how it had showed up.

"House elves." Penelope answered. "They prepare the food down in the kitchens, then using magic, they send it up to the plates."

"House elves?" Harry asked. There was so much he didn't know about the wizarding world.

"Yeah" Lisa broke in. "They're bound to service by the castle. They cook and clean the entire castle, I'd imagine. They're dead useful, and can do crazy things with magic."

"Cool." Harry said. He would have to see one of them, they sounded very interesting.

"So, when do classes start?" Lisa asked. "All of the classes sound so amazing, I can't wait to begin!"

"They'll start tomorrow." Penelope said. "You'll just be taking two classes a day, every day but Sunday."

At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are well fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors

"Quiddich trials will be held in the second week of the term. This year, we have decided to make them fully open tryouts, pending decision by Team Captains. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.

And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. "Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everybody finished at different times, leaving the hall in a deafening cacophony of contradicting tunes. By the end, only two Griffindor boys, who looked distinctly like Ron, were still singing. Once they are finished, the whole hall clapped.

"Ah, music," Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Ravenclaw first years followed Penelope orderly through the crowd to the west exit. As they walked out of the great hall, she began to talk.

"Ravenclaw students live in Ravenclaw Tower." She explained, leading them up the stairs. "To get in, you have to answer a question posed by the knocker. Usually, it's not that hard, but if you get it wrong, you have to wait until someone comes along who answers it."

And there they were, standing in front of the large door. Penelope grabbed the ornate eagle knocker and rapped it against the door.

"_What does man fear above all else?"_

"Death" Penelope answered clearly and evenly. The door swung open silently. What Harry beheld was quite possibly an even more amazing sight than the Great Hall itself.

The common room consisted of a wide, circular room with a dark blue carpet. The arched windows were tall and elegant, and were hung with matching dark blue curtains and bronze silks as well. There were tables, chairs, and even bookcases. The entire room gave off a friendly library feel.

Lining the sides of the Ravenclaw tower were two staircases. "Those lead to the dorms. Left side is for boys, right for the girls. The first door is for the first years. Your baggage has been placed in there. Unpack, and go to bed. Breakfast starts at 7:30, Classes start at 9:00."

Harry, Michael, and all the other boys immediately went up to their beds. Like Penelope told them, they quickly unpacked. All of them were exhausted from the long day. Too tired to talk much, they went to bed immediately.

Harry had the usual dream - a high pitched scream, then a flash of green light. Waking up in a sweat, he had to remind himself that it was just a dream, and went back to bed immediately - he didn't want to miss class tomorrow.

---

Harry woke up surprisingly early that morning - about 7:00. Putting on his school robes, he went downstairs to wait for other people to get up. Surprisingly, some of the upperclassmen were already awake. A large knot were watching a pair of students play wizard's chess.

Overhearing murmurs from the spectators, Harry recognized the two boys as Duncan Inglebee and Randolph Burrow. Randolph was winning, judging by the number of Duncan's pieces that were in a pile of rubble off to the side of the board. Within a few minutes, Duncan lost, and the game was over. Harry watched, fascinated, as the boys' pieces began to reform themselves.

Harry turned to one of the other boys and asked "Sorry, but what's the game they're playing?"

"Wizard's Chess," The boy said without looking at Harry. But after a second, he turned. "Ah, Harry Potter!" He said, loudly enough to make all the heads turn at the mention of the name. Murmurs of "Have him play!" ran through the group until he was pushed, good-naturedly, towards the board. It had completely reset with all the pieces in their correct places.

"But I don't know how to play." Harry said meekly. It didn't help that he was getting all this unwarranted attention.

"It's quite simple." The boy who had won said. "Each square has a name, and you call out where the pieces move. They'll explain how the pieces move as they play." And so they began. All the boys were eager to give Harry advice. Apparently, no one had ever beaten Randolph in Wizards Chess, and they hoped that Harry would be the one to finally end his winning streak. Alas, even with all the advice they gave him, Harry still lost. It went all the way to the end of the game though, and Harry even queened a pawn. It came down to a sneaky checkmate by Randolph's bishop. Once it was over, Randolph shook his hand. "Good job, Harry. We should play Wizard's chess some other time."

But right then, it was time for breakfast. Lisa and Michael had come down by then, and both seemed more energetic than last night. Together, they went down to breakfast led by some of the other students. Like the night before, there was an abundance of foods to eat. Still stuffed from last night's meal, Harry didn't eat much more than he would have with the Dursleys. During breakfast, Dumbledore stood up at the teacher's table, and waited for the hall to grow silent.

"Class Schedules will be given to you by your heads of house. For students in 6th and 7th year, you should meet with your head of house during breakfast to go over your schedules" And breakfast continued after the quick announcement.

Professor Flitwick charmed the schedules to fly to their recipients. Harry's soared into his hand as he read.

**Harry Potter's 1****st**** Year Schedule:**

**Morning Classes: 9:00-12:00**

**Afternoon Classes: 2:00-5:00**

**Monday - Charms / Transfiguration**

**Tuesday - History of Magic / Herbology**

**Wednesday - Potions / Defense Against the Dark Arts**

**Thursday - Charms / Potions**

**Friday - Herbology / Transfiguration**

**Saturday - Defense Against the Dark Arts / History of Magic**

**Astrology - Wednesday nights 9:00-11:00**

Quickly checking with Lisa and Michael, he discovered that all three of them had the same classes. Glad to have some friendly faces in their classes, the three headed off to Charms together.

---

When they got to the Charms classroom, they immediately noticed that it would be a Ravenclaw - Griffindor Class. Harry sat with Michael, and Lisa sat with some of the other Ravenclaw girls. When Ron came into the room, Harry beckoned him over to the desk next to him and Michael. Ron and Seamus plopped down into seats next to them.

"Hey, Ron. I'm sorry about not making it into Gryffindor." Harry said.

"Don't worry, Harry." Ron replied. "At least it's Ravenclaw. If you were in Slytherin, I don't think we would have gotten on so well. And if you're in Ravenclaw, it means you'll be smart enough to help me with homework!"

Both Harry and Ron laughed until Flitwick rapped his wand on the pile of books that he had to stand on to keep at eye level with everyone.

"Good morning, students," He beamed. "As I'm sure you're already aware, Monday morning's charms classes will be a Gryffindor - Ravenclaw shared class. And to extol the virtues of both houses, please show the courage to ask questions if you don't understand something." The entire room chuckled politely at his pun. "Let's pull out our textbooks, _The Standard Book of Spells_, and read chapter one. Can anyone tell me why we take Charms at Hogwarts?" Immediately, both Hermione and Lisa rose their hands. "Yes, Miss Turpin."

"Charms is the foundations of all spells" Lisa said. "If it involves a wand, Charms gives us the understanding to cast them. Transfiguration relies heavily on the things we learn in Charms."

"Very good!" Flitwick exclaimed. "Ten points to Ravenclaw! Now, today, we will be trying the spell Alohomora. Can anyone tell us what Alohomora does? Ah yes, Granger."

"Alohomora is the unlocking charm." Hermione stated. "It can open most locks."

"Yes, very good!" Flitwick said "Ten points to Griffindor! The way you cast it…"

And soon all the students were practicing with simple key locks that he had handed out. They weren't having any luck. Which, incidentally, turned this into the perfect time for small talk.

"So, where are you from, Michael?" Harry asked, muttering _Alohomora and waving his wand at the lock with no luck._

"_Surrey." He replied. "My dad's an Auror, my mum works with the Portkey office. So, we had to live close to headquarters."_

"_What's it like to have wizards for parents?" Harry asked. It was something he was quite curious about, being raised by muggles._

"_Pretty boring, actually." Michael replied. "You don't get to do much until you go to school. Pretty much just fly brooms, and you can't do that much unless you're in the middle of nowhere - muggles don't take too well to seeing people fly brooms."_

"_What's your favorite team for Quidditch?" Ron asked from across the table. _

"_Wimbourne Wasps, who else?" Michael said, and it immediately grew into a Quidditch argument. Harry smiled. He barely understood Quidditch, but it was fun watching them argue. Ron was going on about the 'Chudley Cannons' who, according to Michael, never won. Eventually, it got so heated that Flitwick had to get them to stop, and focus on practicing the spell. Looking around, it didn't seem as if anyone had gotten it._

"_Professor Flitwick!" An excited voice came from the other side of the room. "I did it!" Lisa had managed to unlock the lock, much to Hermione's chagrin._

"_Very good, Turpin!" Flitwick exclaimed. "Ten points to Ravenclaw! My, we do have a very good crop this year."_

_And with Lisa's success, everyone just pushed themselves harder to get the spell. By the end of the class, the only person who had matched Lisa was Hermione, proudly smiling at her open lock. Ron thought that he had opened the lock, but upon Flitwick's closer inspection, it turned out that he had only broke the lock. Before sending everyone off, Flitwick gave homework to read the first chapter of the book and write a 6 inch essay on the importance of proper pronunciation in spells. And after that, it was off to lunch._

_As they headed down to the great hall, Harry asked Ron and Michael to give him a better explanation of Quidditch, which they obliged._

_---_

_In the afternoon, Ravenclaws once more shared Transfiguration with Gryffindor. While Charms was a lighthearted and carefree class, Transfiguration turned out to be a more somber experience. Although Professor McGonagall had surprised them all by turning herself into a cat, she made it clear that she would not tolerate shenanigans in her classroom. Immediately, they got into turning a match into a needle. Much like before, Lisa was the first to succeed, followed quickly by Hermione. And although it was a more difficult class, Harry had managed to make the matchstick metal and pointy. Just glad that he had managed to do anything at all, he shouldered his bag and made to leave when Professor McGonagall stopped him._

"_May I speak with you for a minute, Potter?" She asked. Harry had no reason to object, so he stayed as all the other students filed out. "Thank you potter. You know, I taught both your parents when they came here." Not knowing what to say, Harry kept silent. He didn't really know his parents at all, and wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. "I just want to tell you that even though you aren't under my house, you can always come to me for help." Harry thanked her, and left for dinner. The short conversation unnerved him greatly._

_Harry quickly caught up with both Ron and Michael, who ware arguing about Quidditch again. "Okay, break it up you guys." Harry laughed. "I'm sure both the Wasps and the Cannons are great teams." They relented, not really angry over the argument, anyways._

"_Have you guys heard about tryouts?" Ron asked. "Apparently, there's open tryouts, even for first years. We all should try out!"_

"_Wicked!" said Michael corner, but Harry looked perturbed._

"_I've never flown a broom before." Harry said._

"_Blimey, I forgot!" Ron exclaimed. "You were raised by muggles!"_

"_There's flying lessons with Madam Hooch on Sunday" Ron said. "You should go if you want to find out whether you can fly."_

_And that was that. After grabbing a bite to eat in the great hall, Michael and Harry went up to the Ravenclaw Tower to take care of the homework from Flitwick and McGonagall. After a long day's work, they went to bed. And for the first time in his life, Harry felt like he belonged. That night, Harry smiled in his sleep._

_---_

_A.N.: Okay, this is my 'Harry as a Ravenclaw' fic. The pacing is a bit fast in this chapter, methinks, but I'm probably going to slow it up. What I'm generally planning for the fic is Harry/Hermione and Michael/Lisa. I could do other pairings, but those are the ones I think make most sense. Harry is obviously OOC, because he wanted to be in Ravenclaw. The hat said he would do well in any house, but doing Ravenclaw seems much rarer than Slytherin. So, I'm playing up his curiosity. Honestly, I just sat down and wrote all this today because I couldn't think of much else to do today. Please review if you want the fic to continue, I really think this could be a cool project, but if no-one wants to read it, then I don't know why I'm writing it. _


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I'm back, and here's the new chapter. Thank you all to those who reviewed. You may notice a couple of changes if you go back to the 1st chapter. First, Astronomy is added to the class schedule. Secondly, Dumbledore mentions open tryouts for Quidditch, allowing first years.

Dougal: I fixed Astronomy as you can see. As for Quidditch, they have Sundays off. That's when they would be playing it.

Chris Redfield - General Chaos: I'm keeping Hermione in with the Gryffindors. Before you get upset, let me give you my reasons.

1: I don't like house switching. In my opinion, it should not be done.

2: It gives Harry a vital link to Ron and Neville, characters that can really save my a** when I'm trying to make my work better because J.K. Rowling wrote seven books full of ways on how they act.

Rockgod - I was going to do Hufflepuff, but I didn't like the list of 1st years there would be with Harry. I'm a big fan of Susan Bones, but beyond that, the roster isn't that interesting. Cedric is too old for good interaction IMHO. However, if I ever finish this, I would be more than glad to do the 'Puffs. In fact, I put a challenge up here for someone to show four simultaneous Harrys - one from each house - and how they reacted to different situations. Unfortunately, no one picked it up.

Jedipilot24: Yeah, I may do that as a separate fic at some point. I skipped the Dursley part b/c quite frankly, it's boring. It's necessary, but I couldn't think of much that would be different, barring a couple instances and wasn't really worth my time.

Hope you enjoy it, and please review.

---

Classes got tougher as time went on. Herbology was okay, but very challenging. It didn't help that they had it with the Hufflepuffs, who were just naturally gifted at the subject seeing that their head of house taught it. History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts, on the other hand, were quite the let-down. Coming into it, Harry thought that History of Magic would at least be interesting, but one day with Professor Binns dispelled any illusion of it. Defense Against the Dark Arts similarly failed due to Quirrel. He seemed to have done interesting things, like the story behind his turban, but no one believed him considering how jumpy he was. And the garlic? Just over the top.

Astronomy was pretty hard, though that was probably just the fact that it was set late at night. Professor Sinistra took her subject seriously, and more than a few points had been deducted from the houses for sleeping during the class.

However, the worst of them all, was Snape's potions class. The first day, they got off to a horrible start. Snape got mad at him for taking notes, then fired off a bunch of questions at him. And even though Harry had managed to answer all of them (sometimes, reading books before the class begins is dead useful), it just seemed to infuriate Snape even more. It wasn't as if he could do anything to punish Harry for being correct, but it didn't stop the teacher for deducting points every time that his potions were anything short of excellent.

"Potter!" Snape yelled from across the room. Startled, Harry, almost dropped the Pine Nettles he was holding over the potion. "Did I not instruct you to put the Newt's Eye in the potion after the Nettles? Ten points from Ravenclaw!"

The Ravenclaws had to suppress their groans. Snape had no love for houses other than Slytherin. But his treatment of Harry was border lining on Gryffindor status. All they could do is hope for the class to end as quickly as possible, then rush out the door before Harry could give Snape an excuse to take more points.

---

"So, have you guys figured out what position you want to go for?"

Ah, yes, it was time for Quidditch. Ron had become more and more agitated as the days wore on, getting closer to the deadline for tryouts. Though, that just meant some healthy sports conversation between them.

"I'm trying for Chaser." Michael said. "I'm too big for seeker, too small for beater. I guess I'm just lucky that there's a spot open this year."

"Yeah, Chaser's nice." Ron replied. "I prefer to play keeper, but the only open Gryffindor spot is Seeker, so that's what I'm going to have to try out for. What about you, Harry? You seem small enough to be seeker."

"Dunno. We've already got a seeker. I guess I could try for backup."

It was at this point that Hermione expertly decided to interrupt the trio. "I cant believe you boys! All you talk about is sports, and we've got an essay due tomorrow in charms!"

"And you immediately assume that I haven't done it?" Ron asked.

"Well, did you?" She asked, visibly frustrated.

"No" Ron replied. "I'll make something up tonight before bed."

"Ugh! Well, if you were expecting me to write it for you, you're wrong! I'm going to go do it in the library now." And with that, the bushy-haired witch stalked off. Harry sympathized with her - last-minute essays were quite unsatisfactory.

"Girls!" Ron exclaimed. "Mental!"

"You know, she has a point." Harry admonished Ron. "Flitwick will probably just give you a P on the essay if you don't put some work into it."

"It's not that important." Ron waved Harry off. "Besides, there's better things to do, like Wizard's Chess."

"Well, I think I'm going to go to the library and find Hermione. I need some help on the essay." Harry left Michael and Ron to mess around.

On the way to the library, Harry stopped by the Ravenclaw Tower, answering a question about the Lunar Cycle, to pick up his parchment and quill. From there, he ascended the stairs to the fourth floor where the Library was located. Inside, he found Hermione alone at one of the tables. She barely bothered to look up as he plopped himself down at the table across from her.

"Decided to take care of the essay too, Harry?" She asked, wiping her eyes. Evidently, she must have been quite upset about Ron's comment earlier.

"Look, I'm sorry about Ron." Harry said. "He can be a git sometimes - but most of the time he's a good guy."

"What makes you think I'm upset?" She asked, looking up at him. Even though she smiled, the evidence of her tears was quite plain.

"Oh, nothing." He knew when to tiptoe around a subject. "How far have you gotten?"

"Not much. I was going over the chapter Preface for the distinctive characteristics separating spells from enchantments."

"Oh, yeah, that's…"

And they continued to work on the essay until 8:00, when the library was closed for the knight. Harry walked back to Ravenclaw Tower smiling; it was nice to have a friend who cared about schoolwork. With her brains, he was quite surprised that she didn't get put into Ravenclaw instead.

---

The next day, first year Ravenclaws and Griffindors shuffled into the charms classroom. Michael and Ron sat together, while Harry chose to sit next to Hermione. Both Ron and Michael were slack jawed at Harry's choice in table mates. Harry just shrugged, and they let it drop.

"Essays on the desks, please!" Flitwick chirped from his tower of books. "Open your books to Chapter Six and read while I grade the essays."

Everyone opened their books to the proper page. Chapter Six: Charms and Lasting Effects. As soon as Flitwick's attention was on the essays, Ron and Michael began to chat quietly amongst themselves. Tryouts were this Sunday, and they could hardly wait. Harry and Hermione on the other hand, began to take notes down on the chapter. Maybe it was the fact that they both were raised for muggles, maybe it was just their curiosity, but the two of them seemed to share an insatiable hunger for knowledge of all things magical.

This chapter, long and technical as it was, was fascinating to the two. Outlining the factors that defined the lasting time of a spell, it showed Abraxas Malfoy's equation for potency. It was incredibly complicated from what the book said, but Harry came up with this in his notes:

_**Spell Time = (Level of Focus + Time Spent Focusing)/ Difficulty of Spell**_

It was at this point precisely that Flitwick had the misfortune of getting to Ron's paper. "Mr. Weasley!" The red-headed lollygagger jumped in his seat. "'Enchantments last for bloody forever'? Ten points from Gryffindor for inappropriate language in homework! And you should you wish to pass this class, I would advise you to spend more time on assignments."

The entire class broke into giggles at this and Ron, the target of the derision, slumped into his chair, the tops of his ears turning as red as his hair. Hermione smirked at this, still upset about last night. Harry held in his laughter as best he could, feeling like his ribs were going to crack.

---

"Hey, Harry! Wait up!" Ron was panting heavily after springing to catch up with Harry and Hermione. "Are you guys working on the History of Magic essay after Transfiguration? I've written everything I could think of on the goblin rebellions, and I still have 2 inches to go."

Harry shrugged, and looked over at Hermione. She was the one who was upset with Ron in the first place, so he decided to but out of this decision. Luckily for Ron, she smiled and nodded. "We were planning on going to the library after dinner. We can go over the essay then."

Hermione excused herself, having to make a trip to the restrooms, leaving Harry and Ron to go down to lunch.

"So, how are Seeker tryouts looking?" Harry asked Ron.

"There's not really anyone interested in the spot. The older students are looking at the Chaser spot more than Seeker. Add in that most of the first years in Gryffindor don't even know which end of the broom you use to fly, and I'm kinda a shoe-in. How about you?"

"Not good. Davies is keeping Cho, but he's agreed to keep me on the reserve team. Apparently seekers have a nasty tendency to get injured."

"Yeah, but the girls dig guys with scars."

Both of them had a good laugh at that before separating to eat at their own tables.

---

The week went by quickly. Monday to Tuesday, Tuesday to Wednesday, Wednesday to Thursday. Before they knew it, it was Sunday. And Sunday meant Gryffindor team tryouts.

The majority of the students on the Quidditch pitch were Griffindors, but Harry and Michael came out to cheer on Ron. Hermione joined them with a little cajoling.

The majority of the students who had come down to the pitch to try out for the one chaser spot. Typically it went to the reserve members, namely Alicia Spinnet, but there were a few hopefuls for the spot who had been out of commission at last year's tryouts. Which went on for quite a while, including some nasty collisions due to 'Gryffindor bravery'. Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey knew that something like this was going to happen and was on hand to take them to the hospital wing.

"Honestly," Hermione exclaimed after one particularly bad crash had Madam Pomfrey rushing him up to the castle. "This sport is so barbaric. I don't get what you boys see in it."

"But Hermione!" Ron said "It's tradition for the sport to be nasty!"

"Yeah." Michael added "The Wasps are best known for when a beater hit the opponent's seeker with a beehive. The seeker got stung so bad he got to retire. And it's not just wizards who are into it. Witches are quite nasty at the game themselves."

As if to punctuate Michael's statement, Alicia Spinnet took the open chaser spot. In the end, she was the only one not dumb enough to hurt herself. Even the ones who were still on the pitch for Wood's decision weren't completely unscathed. One boy, a fourth year, had to have his head bandaged after his ear tore a little bit, but he still stayed for the spot.

"All right." Wood said, turning to the bleachers. "Last, but not least, we've got seeker tryouts. Thankfully, this should be a bit less bloody. Can the seekers come down, please?"

A couple of third years stood up and made their way down to the pitch. Ron got up, and as he started down, the others cheered him on.

"You can do it Ron!" Harry called out.

"Yeah!" Michael yelled. "Get the spot, so I can beat your sorry arse all over the pitch in the game!"

"Michael!" Hermione admonished. "Language!"

"Sorry, Hermione." Michael mumbled.

Wood waited for all three of the young Quidditch players to make it down, then gesturing to the trunk behind him, he pulled a small golden ball out of it.

"The rules are simple." He explained "Whoever catches the snitch wins. And… go!"

With that, tiny wings unfurled from the ball, twitching with life as the snitch took to the air. All three of the seeker hopefuls kicked off the ground hard in pursuit of it.

Ron was clearly dragging behind the other two on his Shooting Star. But by how the third years were acting, it was almost better that he wasn't up with them. Ahead, on their faster Cleansweep Sevens, they were gunning for the snitch, slamming into each other with increasing frequency. Harry was amused at the length Griffindors would seem to go for Quidditch. "No pain, no gain" seemed to be their mantra.

Speed wasn't everything, though. While the two third years were competing for position, they managed not to notice the fact that the Snitch had changed course. Lazily floating up, over their heads, it looped back towards the far goalposts. Which gave Ron the unique position of being in the lead.

The other seekers quickly picked up on the lack of a snitch, and were hard on Ron's tail. As the goalposts loomed up large in front of them, they were neck and neck with Ron. Hovering in the middle hoop, the snitch was seemingly waiting to be caught.

This seemed suspicious to Ron. The snitch was supposed to play hard to get, not wait to get caught. So, at the last second, he dropped below the other two, and reached out his arm to grab the pole, using his momentum to make a complete 180 degree turn. Which paid off when the third years tried to go through the hoop, resulting in a nasty crash. Quidditch hoops weren't meant for two people to fly through them at the same time.

All the while, Wood, Harry, Hermione, and Michael stood watching all of this, amazed at Ron's prowess as a seeker.

It was around this time that Ron noticed the snitch; hovering above Wood's head. Before the snitch could change positions, Ron pushed his Shooting Star for all it's worth. At first, the Quidditch captain didn't understand what was happening. But before he could dive out of the way, Ron plowed into him, both tumbling far across the ground. Eventually, both came to a stop, Ron's right hand opening up to reveal the snitch, carefully cradled within.

"Well," Oliver panted "I think we've got a new seeker. Welcome to the team, Ron!"

---

A.N.: Okay, this took me a little less time than I expected, and is a bit shorter than I wanted it to be. I just have to stop whenever my brain tells me 'enough is enough'! It just seemed right to break there. Hopefully, next chapter will be longer.

I'm going to try to post every Monday like Clockwork. If that fails, every other Monday. But, most importantly, I would like someone to beta. I'm planning to finish by Thursday each week for the 1 - week schedule, and Sunday for the 2 - week schedule. Then, it would be shipped off to the beta. I'm looking for substantive and stylistic help (though not plot help - I've got my grand design written down). If you're interested, e-mail me at . If you do send me an e-mail, please make the subject "Beta", otherwise, I might delete it without looking. Many thanks, please review?


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